No mention for bags as Bill heads to the Lords
London Councils had called for the Government to provide “decisive action” on its plans to tackle disposable carrier bags and insinuated that the Third Reading of the Bill was the Government's “last chance” to impose tougher measures (see letsrecycle.com story), however, the seven hour debate centred on the inclusion of aviation and shipping emissions into carbon reduction targets and the functions of the newly formed Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The Bill, which also provides provisions to pilot financial recycling incentive schemes, will be sent to the Lords for scrutiny in the ‘ping-pong stage' before returning to the House of Commons, while it is expected to achieve Royal Assent by the end of November.
Peterborough chief executive joins refuse team
Chief executive Gillian Beasley promised to spend a shift with the refuse and recycling team if the council's city services team beat her crew in the Peterborough Dragon Boat Festival, which took place on the Embankment in June. As a result of the defeat, Ms Beasley joined the refuse and recycling team's collection round in the Stanground area of Peterborough on Wednesday (October 29) and worked with the crew between 7 am and 1 pm, to collect and empty residents' bins.
Ms Beasley said: “I made a promise that I'd spend a shift with the refuse and recycling crew if my dragon boat team lost so it's only right that I honour that promise. It will be very different from the way a typical day begins for me but I am looking forward to seeing how the team carries out its vital work and to meeting a few residents on the way round.”
SITA UK appoint new head of PPP development
SITA UK has announced the appointment of Paul Gavin as head of public private partnership (PPP) development, with responsibility for developing tenders for nationwide contracts.
With over fifteen years experience in the recycling and waste management industry, Mr Gavin previously worked for four years as a project manager at SITA UK, developing major tenders for public sector contracts and as SITA UK's Financial Controller.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Gavin said: “There are a number of exciting opportunities coming onto the market, which we will be pursuing. We have an excellent team of project managers and are keen to build on our success in the PPP field.”
Plastic recycling firm links with local university
On placement with the plastic recycling firm will be Ksenia Gorlova, who is studying accounting and finance at Salford University, and Lidia Goyos Ball and Kwame Nkrumah-Amoako, who are both studying chemical engineering at Manchester University. Mick Claes from Manchester Metropolitan University has also been assigned on work placement to environmental science projects at Bramhall. The company has also welcomed two new employees, with chemical engineer Nicola Myles joining the Bramhall consultancy team on recycling research projects, and international relations graduate Edyta Onych has been appointed sales coordinator at the Salford plant.
Roger Morton, commercial director at Axion, said: “As potential future employees, they get a feel for working with us and they in turn get valuable experience within an interesting and stimulating work environment, while being guided by our experienced team.”
Croydon hails same day collections a success
The London borough of Croydon claims it has successfully introduced same day collection services for waste and recycling after residents requested simpler collections.
Introduced in June, the twin box and green waste service are now collected on the same day as residual waste after the council coordinated new collection days with waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services. The council claims that the move, which has affected 95,000 households across the borough, now makes it easier for the waste management company to respond to missed collections and could save tax payers up £1 million following a £4.75 million investment into improving the efficiency of the existing service.
Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways, said: “The council would like to thank all the residents for their support to the changes in the waste and recycling service, and for recycling as much of their household waste as possible.”
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